Letter to Jules Guesde, June 11, 1887

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 11 June 1887


First published, in the language of the original (French), in Friedrich Engels 1820-1970. Referate. Discussionen. Dokumente, Hanover, 1971
Printed according to the original
Translated from the French
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 48


ENGELS TO JULES GUESDE

IN PARIS

London, 11 June 1887 122 Regent's Park Road, N. W.

Dear Citizen Guesde,

I would gladly lend a hand in getting the 18th Brumaire[1] published in the resuscitated Socialiste,[2] but to this there are two minor obstacles.

In the first place, as you know, it was intended that, at the time of its publication in the Socialiste, the Communist Manifesto[3] should also appear in book form.[4] For reasons which are not known to me, that edition never appeared, and I should like to be assured that such a thing will not recur.

In the second place—and this is a matter of far greater moment—I am prevented by eye-trouble, which has been dragging on for the past six months, from taking on any literary commitments at the present time. And, since a great deal still remains to be done before the translation is completed, it is ten to one that printing will be held up and that we shall miss the boat altogether.

Hence I would ask you to allow the matter to drop, for the time being at any rate; later on, when I am again fit for work, we might discuss it further.

With best wishes for the success of the Socialiste,

Yours very sincerely

F. Engels

  1. ↑ K. Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte
  2. ↑ Two French translations of Marx's The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte were made, almost simultaneously, by the French socialists Paul Lavigne and Edouard Fortin. Fortin's translation, sent to Engels somewhat earlier (see Engels' letter to Paul Lavigne of 1 December 1885 in Vol. 47 of the present edition) and edited by Engels at Fortin's request, was published first in Le Socialiste, the newspaper of the French Workers' Party, in January-November 1891 and appeared in book form in Lille the same year.
  3. ↑ K. Marx and F. Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party
  4. ↑ Laura Lafargue's French translation of the Manifesto of the Communist Party, revised by Engels, was printed in Le Socialiste from 29 August to 7 November 1885. No separate French edition of the Manifesto appeared in Engels's lifetime.